Something's broken...

[Shock-Late]

Something 's broken in my system, and I can't locate what it is exactly.

Since a few weeks, sound seems to come slightly louder from the right channel than the left channel. It's quite subtle: voices aren't "center stage" anymore. They're more on the right, idem for solo instruments.

Also, on some programs, it sounds like there's a slight distortion in the high frequencies on that left channel, it's a bit splashy and metallic, yet here again it's subtle and i'm not sure my mum for example would notice it...

I tried with another amp, but wasn't able to tell if the problem was solved because the sound was SOOO different...

Maybe I broke something in my amp's left channel; one day, without any speaker connected, and with only the interconnect to the left channel connected, I pressed "play" on the CD player; well the amp was "on", so was the preamp, and alas the preamp's knob was turned full up. And I actually heard something i never heard before: I heard sound coming from the amp itself!!! it sounded just like a walkman on someone else's head.

So maybe I burned something in the input stages of thepower amp.

But could it be simply the interconnect cable? My preamp is RCA and my amp is CANON so I had to make an interconnect myself... but as i'm not very good with soldering, and as the solder i used wasn't designed for audio use, maybe it's just that the cable on the left channel has become bad with time???

Or maybe the tweeter on the left Scala is burned, or the mid, but would it be so subtle?

I'm really confused; there's something wrong, definitely, but I'm not able to tell where it comes from.

If someone can help...it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

franois

[jazman]

Shock-Late,

The first thing I would suggest; try to isolate the problem by swapping the speaker cable connections to the amplifier, left to right and right to left, to determine if the problem moves to the other channel. If it doesn't move, it's probably speaker related. If it does move, it's probably at the amp or preamp.

Klipsch out.

[ShapeShifter]

Not a lot to add. But if you suspect interconnects, try some others that are available. Those supplied with components will work for trouble shooting purposes.

Hope it's minor.

Wes

------------------

"KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f>

This message has been edited by ShapeShifter on 04-14-2002 at 10:28 AM

[djk]

You still screwing around with a tube amp? If you turn up the signal on a tube amp without a load it will fry.

[lynnm]

"You still screwing around with a tube amp? If you turn up the signal on a tube amp without a load it will fry."

Is this correct??

[WMcD]

I'd agree that switching wiring and listening to each speaker alone, and each amp channel alone, is a very good idea. Also changing out the the connecting wires, and the speaker wires; see infra.

It is not clear from the above that this power amp is a tube unit. If so, you may have heard the output transformer. The output transformer has magnetic winding and it can move an iron housing on the transformer or amp like a speaker. As you say, a distant tinny sound. It might be there always but you don't hear it at low levels or with a speaker connected.

I would not jump to a conclusion that running a tube amp without a load, at least for a matter of seconds, is going to fry anything. "In the Days of My Youth" (L.Z.) us guys played with tube amps and they took a lot of misuse without permanent harm. I've not heard of a transistor amp failing for lack of a load. It is not recommended but most likely not fatal, usually.

In my continued experience, a perceived imbalance can have any number of sources.

For several days the K-Horns sounded slightly imbalanced. It was a loose wire to the woofer on one side. Yet the loss of bass was not immediately apparent unit the balance control was turned full over. The imbalance didn't sound like a bass problem, yet this was the issue.

I've also found the causes to be: a cranky interconnect between a CD and amp; and a sort of loose RCA wire from the amp to the speaker. It can work, but it is scratchy -- or it drops out at low levels and comes back.

With some "super" connectors the collar of the male RCA connector is so tight it can't be pushed on to the neck of the female end properly. With older RCA's somes the collar is loose and needs to be bent back into position. Difficult to see in the crowded wires in the rear of an amp.

Lastly, if you've been rewiring, getting the phase of the wiring to the speakers wrong can be a possibility and it is not always obvious.

In my experience, when speakers are wired out of phase there is a little sonic hole when you're right in the center and then it gets better as you move off center with sort of audio phase-iness as you move your head. So it sounds better a bit off axis. Then you trim things up with the balance and something changes, but it is not a cure.

Excuse if the above is obvious.

Let us know how it works out.

Gil

This message has been edited by William F. Gil McDermott on 04-17-2002 at 09:00 PM

[Shock-Late]

Thanks for your help, guys...

I didn't have the time yet to try swapping anything but according to a friend of mine it's probably the tweeter and / or the capacitor in the crossover that causes the problem. I would agree with the capacitor idea since the previous owner already had to change the cap from the other x-over; I suspect this one has finally gone wrong too.

I also think that it is time for me to change my midrange drivers; the ones I own were used for PA and i suspect they may be a bit loose, since they're about 30 years old....

so, surprise, yesterday I found a guy who sells five k55v units, three among them completely new and never used, along with two K400 horns, everything for 110 euros (about 100 $ I think) so i'm going to buy these. I hope they're from the latest K55V type with solder connectors! )

Frans